4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

4A – Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe there are lots of people in Gainesville that are looking to get into better shape for the future.

I think that people have an unmet need to change their bodies and get more confidence in themselves for the future. The typical person that has this need would be an middle aged person that may be obese or overweight. Other people may be college students attempting to make a change in their body and lifestyle. This need comes from personal reasons like health, social reasons like trying to impress others, and demographical change like the rise of obesity in America. Some, but not all, are attempting to make changes in their body but it may not be long lasting. I am 100% sure this opportunity exists.

The prototypical customer could be obese people or people that are unsatisfied with their bodies. They could range from college aged students to older men and women.

Questions:

What is the exact nature of their need? I want to feel lighter, healthier, and I want people to look at me better. I don’t want waste my life away.

When did you become aware of this need? When I looked down and I realized I couldn’t see parts of my body that I wanted to.

How long have you had this need? Since I came to college (Freshman forty-five)

How are you currently addressing this need? I am cutting back on my pizza consumption, only half a pizza per day. I switched from ice cream to frozen yogurt. And I am attempting to do 45 minutes of exercise per day.

Are you satisfied with the solution? Yes, I am satisfied currently, I am losing weight, but I can still eat some of the things I want.

I learned that people that are obese need to change their lifestyle for my opportunity to be successful.  My opportunity relies on people that may not want to dramatically alter their lifestyle. This could hurt the success of my opportunity.

My new prototypical customer would be determined and motivated to change their lifestyle or better their bodies. This could be college athletes trying to gain an edge over other athletes through rigorous training. 

What is the exact nature of your need? I want to be able to physically out compete others.

When did you become aware of this need? When others were physically beating me.

How long have you had this need? New recruits were brought in and I am on the bench now.

How are you addressing this need? Taking steroids

How satisfied are you with your solution? Not satisfied because I could get caught and banned.

I learned from this prototypical customer that college athletes are already dedicated to becoming more physically fit, and that they are willing to do anything (even steroids) to get an advantage. When other recruits or other players start dominating those on the field, the competitive nature of athletes will make them want to train with experienced professionals to better their body.

Summarize

My original opportunity is still there partially, but it doesn’t rely much on people that are getting obese in the first place. I believe that my new opportunity may not be more accurate than when I started because college athletes may go to other people to train, like coaches. I think that entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on overwhelming customer feedback. Every person is different and while their input is valuable, they may not fit your market. If you stay firm, you could eventually break through the market.